Skepticism is a natural human response when a situation that triggers an overwhelming emotion and panic, like the deadly coronavirus outbreak, arises. In Utah, for example, where well-known travel destinations have quickly become coronavirus hotspots, residents are still posting pictures of themselves at eateries and parties to protest on “the assault on their human rights.”
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As shocking as this might seem, it is a natural occurrence in a time like this because even skilled physicians have questioned the realness of the virus. Elena Savoia, deputy director of the emergency preparedness program at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has this to say recently, “At the beginning of the epidemic in Italy a couple of colleagues of mine whom I admire and have great respect for were in complete denial.”
She added, “We had only a few cases at that time in Italy and they were skeptical about the need to prepare and get ready for a massive number of cases. This happens frequently with professionals that are not trained in preparedness.” However, now that America is the country with the highest number of coronavirus patients and the cases all across the globe keep increasing, the skeptics might be on their way to getting convinced. To help you to change their mind today, see How To Make A Skeptic Know That The Coronavirus Must Be Taken Seriously:
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1. Make them see real possibilities:
To avoid becoming a burden on a country’s healthcare system, experts have said citizens need to be convinced to remain indoors. When it comes to those that doubt the seriousness of the virus, stop engaging in debates with them, instead, tell them the consequences if an increase of cases is greater than your nation’s medical system’s ability to treat patients.
The logic here is simple, when the number of coronavirus patients exceeds the number of available hospital beds, sick people that require medical treatment even for a different thing entirely will not be able to access it, and this could lead to more deaths.
Elena said, “We are already seeing elective surgeries being canceled. We need to make people understand that the behaviors we adopt now will have an impact on our own freedom and health, even if we are lucky and we are not getting COVID-19.”
2. Tap into their fears:
Misinformation and conspiracy theories cannot help at this point, but the fear in them can. Most skeptics will predict a small number of deaths from a virus they do not believe in. In a recent survey conducted in the USA, more than half of the responders said they felt coronavirus would kill less than 500 people in America and the UK by the end of the year. We are not done with March yet and over 1000 people have died from COVID-19 in the USA alone.
Despite all the information about the virus, being unable to estimate the scale of the crises to expect might be rooted deep in a fear of the unknown. If you are not aware, when we reach a level of uncertainty, human beings will most likely panic or get defensive by going into a state of denial.
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3. Give it to them straight:
The government, experts and every social media user need to concentrate on passing accurate messages about the deadly coronavirus across in a very calm and direct way. Terry Adirim, senior associate dean of clinical affairs at Florida Atlantic University’s College of Medicine, said, “Be direct, be honest, be transparent, and communicate frequently. You can’t overcommunicate. People are hungry for information.”
Most citizens want concrete, specific information at this time, not vague estimates. For instance, saying the virus can lead to closures that will last weeks or months will cause unease. However, including concrete details, for example, “past pandemics suggest controlling COVID-19 will take 8 to 10 weeks of isolation.” will be a less tense statement and this will definitely calm a citizen’s anxiety.
If the solution to a question is not known, you do not have to lie about it. Do not guess or try to reduce the risks since that will only undermine your undermine your credibility.
Terry added that in online exchanges, it is very useful to verify the source and truth of information before sharing. And when you share, always quote your source for others to verify.
Be safe out there.
